Bulgaria affirms plan to join Caspian-Black Sea green energy corridor

Bulgarian energy minister Vladimir Malinov has reiterated the Balkan country’s intent to join the so called “green energy corridor,” a regional initiative that seeks to build a subsea interconnector to transmit clean electricity from the South Caucasus region to Europe across the Black Sea.

The Green Energy Corridor Power Company joint venture was agreed in September among Azerbaijan, Georgia, Romania and Hungary.

Minister Malinov confirmed Bulgaria’s position to join the initiative at a meeting with counterparts from the respective countries on the sidelines of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan. The joint venture members welcomed Bulgaria's interest, indicating readiness to initiate the process to bring in the new partner.

"Security, cooperation and coordination, along with appropriate financing are crucial to building green energy corridors between nations," minister Malinov noted, adding that Bulgaria has backed the green energy corridor initiative from the outset as a strategic step to bolster regional and national energy security.

In early September, Romanian power grid operator Transelectrica, Georgian State Electrosystem, AzerEnerji and Hungary's power company MVM signed a joint venture agreement after a study confirmed that the proposed Black Sea submarine cable project is promising and technically and economically feasible.

The project envisages “a direct current high voltage underwater cable which will connect Romania to Georgia through the Black Sea, the connection being extended in Hungary and Azerbaijan,” Transelectrica said in a statement at the time.

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